NCCN Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria to Be Integrated Into National Decision Support Company’s CareSelect Imaging

Providers and their patients with cancer can benefit from access to NCCN Guidelines–based, qualified imaging criteria incorporated directly into electronic health-care workflow.

— Robert W. Carlson, MD

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) is collaborating with National Decision Support Company (NDSC) to integrate the NCCN Imaging Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) into NDSC’s CareSelect Imaging to allow for access to imaging recommendations, adapted from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®).

“Through our collaboration with NDSC, providers and their patients with cancer can benefit from access to NCCN Guidelines–based, qualified imaging criteria incorporated directly into electronic health-care workflow,” said Robert W. Carlson, MD, CEO of NCCN. “We are grateful to NDSC for its willingness to be an NCCN Health Information Technology licensee; providing NCCN Imaging AUC at point of care through technology helps assure quality cancer care while minimizing unneeded or inappropriate imaging.”

Adapted from the NCCN Guidelines, NCCN Imaging AUC support clinical decision-making around the use of imaging in patients with cancer by outlining all imaging procedures recommended in the NCCN Guidelines, including radiographs, computed tomography scans, magnetic resonance imaging, functional nuclear medicine imaging (positron-emission tomography, single-photon–emission computed tomography), and ultrasound. NCCN is recognized by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as an approved provider-led entity for development of imaging AUC.

“NDSC’s collaboration with NCCN expands on the more than 15,000 clinical endpoints already contained in our solution, installed at more than 150 health systems nationally,” said Michael Mardini, CEO of NDSC. “The robust NCCN criteria set the standard for imaging appropriate use criteria for cancer patients. Our relationship with NCCN will enable NDSC to apply our proven competence to deliver guidelines into electronic medical record workflows and enable us to provide a comprehensive cancer AUC set consistent with our mission to deliver standard-based, nationally recognized guidelines at the point of care.”

A clinical decision support solution from NDSC, CareSelect Imaging leverages the ACRselect Technology Platform to deliver a comprehensive range of AUC for diagnostic imaging. Within the system, AUC is sourced from approved provider-led entities, including the American College of Radiology, the American College of Cardiology, and NCCN. CareSelect delivers AUC directly into the electronic health record workflow to provide ­real-time support that is actionable and compliant with the Protecting Access to Medicare Act.

NCCN Imaging AUC are currently available for 12 NCCN Guidelines; NCCN Imaging AUC are expected to be integrated into CareSelect Imaging beginning in the third quarter of 2016.